911 Carrera Questions
 

Hi Everyone... New to the forum and wanted to tap the knowledge vault... I'm entertaining the idea of getting a 911 Carrera (1999-2000'ish) model and wanted to get the scoop on them... For the money, they seem to be a nice compromise amongst the trims... look nice and have decent horsepower.. just to get an idea, i've surfed ebay quite a bit and most with decent mileage 40K or less seem to go from anywhere between $28k-$38k (give or take)... a few months ago a lot close to my house had a 2000 Carrera with 41k miles on it... guy said he would've taken $26k for it... i just wasn't in the market then but here soon i might be... I'd love to have a turbo 911 but they are just too much $... so anyone with good info on this trim please respond.. i'd really appreciate any info... I'd also like to know how upgradeable this model is... what are inexpensive mods for it that can boost up the horsepower... and, how much horsepower can the stock block hold ? can it be aftermarket turbo'ed and if so how much does that entail and cost ?

Thanks Everyone

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

Don't be afraid to buy a early 90's model to get your feet wet. As far as modification, you should try www.bodymotion.com
All the best!

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

Definitely. 1999 or 2000 is good, and would recommend to anyone... the 2002 model is a little different, maybe a little better if you can afford it. There are lots and lots of mods you could do, but I would drive one first, because you probably won't need them. Porsches are very fast for their horsepower (if that makes sense) A 320 HP Carrera is faster than many cars with 4 or even 500 HP for many reasons and their published performance figures are actually very conservative. Both of mine 2002 cab and 97 turbo are considerably faster than their published specs, even dyno'd better... both are completely stock.

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

Well, my 2004 Carrera, with the Tiptronic, dynos at 265-267 RWHP, which I do not consider excessive for its rated HP, but about what I expect. And it does 13.4-13.5 second quarter miles, which I also think is about what you should expect from an automatic transmission car with 320 HP and roughly 3200 lbs weight. This is not really fast in my book, but it is quick for the street, so I think the HP is legit but not underrated.

That said, I have to say tha the HP is not much of the appeal of the car. I think my Carrera is the best daily driver I have ever had. It is just a verypleasant car to live with every day.

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

Great points. And I think it adds to my general response to the thread starter. He was asking about aftermarket upgrades before driving the car. My point was that when you look at published figures for a Carrera, the hp and as you mentioned 1/4 mile times are not spectacular, but you have to actually drive the car to understand what I am talking about... it feels very fast, not in a straight line necessarily. But, into corners and quickness out of a corner. When I said "fast for their hp", the various reasons I was alluding to were grip, power to weight ratio, and transmission. (did you see the Top Gear episode where the 355 hp Carrera S beats the Astin Martin and the BMW, both with considerably more hp?) As to the dyno figures; my tech explained to me that my cars have suprisingly small rwhp loss as compared to the published performance figures... he explained it in % loss. (I don't remember the exact number, but I will ask him) And as to 0- 60 times. My 02 did mid 4 seconds and my Turbo will do low 4's, not high 4's and mid 4's respectively. Anyway, I absolutely agree on the daily driver point. The Carrera is a fantastic daily driver, with no problems to speak of. (although my neighbor's engine just blew on his 05) Having said that, the Boxter (can't believe a Carrera guy is saying this) is a wonderful daily driver for the money!

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the 02 has practically every factory upgrade available, but It has no aftermarket upgrades. "Stock" to me ; )

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

And a question for Mr. Willis... (and this barely related to this thread) But I still can't figure out how you go grocery shopping in the Carrera? I took my Turbo to Publix the other day, bought about 100 bucks worth of groceries, and had a very hard time fitting them in the car. A couple bags went in the trunk, one on each back seat, but it is really embarrasing when the person at the stop light looks over and sees that your passenger is the 24 pack of toilet paper! LMAO

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

The older cars are awesome but the ride is harsh for models 1994 or older. Big time Harsh. The 1995-1998 have the air cooled motor but the more modern handling. In an earlier posts someone who works on Porsches said thew 1999 or newer 996 variant are better cars. As an earlier post said if you can afford it the 2002 or newer cars have a stronger engine.

Either way you can not go wrong.

Lee

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

There is an annoying rattle that seems to come from behind the instrument cluster on my 1988 911 carrera.To be exact, I believethis rattle is coming from behind the temperature/ oil pressure gage. It does not sound like the wires were hitting something.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Fred

RE: 911 Carrera Questions
 

Hi, Starbelly. I was in the same shoes a few months ago before I brought my first Porsche. I was considering 911, without too much knowledge about the early 2000 models 911 and I don't know how to fix any car,I don't want a 5 to 6 years old car, just becasue an older car may have more maintenance problem, etc. and I don't really want to buy a 5 to6 years old 911 with just very few mileage on it, if the car has been sitting a whole lot, it is not good too. So, to make the money short, I end up brought a 2006 Boxster S with 285 hp for about $60000. Another big reason that I choose boxster is it has two trunks, changing from a 4 door car to a sport car, I really has to adjust my thinking. I barely able to get by in my daily driving because I bring along quite a bit of stuff when I leave my house. :D. Boxster does handle very nice, it may not be as fast as a 911, but it corner and handle very nice. :)